1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to laminated stacks and, more particularly, to stacks of interlocked laminations.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacture of stators, rotors and other parts employing laminated stacks is well known in the art. Typically, the laminations are blanked from a continuous strip of sheet stock material and then stacked and joined to form the stator, rotor or other part. Progressive die assemblies for producing laminations wherein a strip of lamination material is fed through a sequence of stamping or punching stations to progressively form the laminations to the desired configuration are also well known.
When forming stators and rotors for conventional electrical motors, the rotors are oftentimes punched from material removed from the center of the stator. The manufacture of electronically commutated motors, however, may involve the use of a non-laminated rotor which may result in the scrapping of material removed from the center of the stator laminations. Various known methods have been developed to form stators which do not require the removal of a large quantity of material from the center of each stator lamination when manufacturing laminated stators. Although known methods can be employed to manufacture laminated stators and other laminated parts, an improved method of manufacturing laminated parts is desired.